Sports
Ernie Clement racks up five hits as Blue Jays maul Angels
May 9, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Trey Yesavage (39) pitches in the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Gerry Angus-Imagn Images Brandon Valenzuela hit a three-run homer to cap a seven-run fifth inning Saturday and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the visiting Los Angeles Angels 14-1.
Valenzuela had four hits and Ernie Clement recorded his second career five-hit game, including a solo homer as Toronto rapped out 20 hits to take their second in a row in the three-game series. Jesus Sanchez added a solo homer as Toronto padded statistics against infielder Adam Frazier, who pitched a four-run eighth for the Angels, who have lost four of five to Toronto this season.
Mason Fluharty (2-0) pitched a perfect fifth to pick up the win.
The Angels threatened in the second against Trey Yesavage. Jorge Soler led off with a double to the top of the center field wall. He took third on Yoan Moncada’s ome-out single to right. The inning ended when Addison Barger threw Soler out of the plate on Vaughn Grissom’s flyout to right.
Barger (sprained ankle) was reinstated from the injured list Saturday with Yohendrick Piñango optioned to Triple-A Buffalo.
Yesavage lasted four innings, allowing no runs and four hits with six strikeouts.
Toronto scored once in their fourth against Jack Kochanowicz (2-2). Sanchez was hit by a pitch followed by singles from Daulton Varsho and Clement to load the bases with no outs. Andres Gimenez hit a sacrifice fly to the left-field corner.
Toronto scored four more in the fifth against the sloppy Angels. Barger walked and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled. The runners advanced on a wild pitch and Kazuma Okamoto flared an RBI single to left. Sanchez blooped an RBI single that dropped among three fielders down the left-field line. Another run scored when Kochanowicz threw wildly to first on Varsho’s comebacker. Clement grounded an RBI single to left to make it 5-0. Mitch Farris replaced Kochanowicz and allowed Valenzuela’s one-out three-run homer to left.
Kochanowicz allowed seven runs (six earned), nine hits and two walks with no strikeouts in four-plus innings.
Clement led off the seventh with a homer to left against Farris. Guerrero added an RBI single,
Pinch hitter Frazier stroked an RBI double to right against Tyler Rogers in the eighth to give the Angels their first run of the series.
Angels pinch hitter Omar Martinez picked up his first major league hit in the ninth with a single against Tommy Nance.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Four different players score to give Inter Miami win over Toronto FC
May 9, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Inter Miami CF midfielder Lionel Messi (10) battles for the ball with Toronto FC midfielder Jonathan Osorio (21) during the first half at BMO Field. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images Rodrigo De Paul, Luis Suarez, Sergio Reguilon and Lionel Messi each scored to lead visiting Inter Miami to a 4-2 win over Toronto FC on Saturday.
Messi had two assists as Miami (6-2-4, 22 points) made sure it wouldn’t repeat last week’s stunning 4-3 home loss against Orlando City when it surrendered a 3-0 lead.
Emilio Aristizabal scored a brace for Toronto (3-4-5, 14 points).
The Herons took a 1-0 lead when De Paul’s free kick from 25 yards out in the 44th minute ricocheted off the wall and his one-time right-footed shot hit the post and went in.
Suarez gave Miami a 2-0 advantage when he finished Messi’s pass with his left foot in the 56th minute. The Herons took advantage of the space created when Toronto forward Raheem Edwards remained down on the pitch.
In the 73rd minute, Miami went up 3-0 when Messi returned a pass to Reguilon who scored his first MLS goal.
Miami poured it on at 4-0 when De Paul connected with Messi in the middle of the box in the 75th minute.
Aristizabal trimmed Miami’s lead to 4-1 in the 82nd minute. Toronto trailed 4-2 on Aristizabal’s header on a Kobe Franklin pass in the 90th minute.
Early in the match, Toronto had its chances. Alonso Coello’s free kick from outside the box in the eighth minute skipped through the Miami wall, but Dayne St. Clair made the save.
In the next few minutes, Toronto continued to press as Malik Henry, Markus Cimermancic and Deandre Kerr had shots go wide of the target.
Miami’s offense started to build late in the first half when a Messi shot sizzled beyond the near post in the 38th minute.
Moments later, St. Clair made a diving punch save of a Daniel Salloi shot to preserve Miami’s 1-0 lead at halftime.
The 47th minute featured Luis Suarez forcing a turnover at midfield which set Messi up for a 2-on-1 run. Messi drew in both defenders and slipped a pass to Suarez on the wing, whose shot from inside the box was off target.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Wings out-race Fever to season-opening victory
May 9, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) shoots the ball while Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Arike Ogunbowale scored 22 points, Paige Bueckers and Odyssey Sims tallied 20 apiece and the Dallas Wings opened the new season with a 107-104 win over the Indiana Fever on Saturday in Indianapolis.
Jessica Shepard racked up 13 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for Dallas, which burned Indiana with 25 fastbreak points.
Sims, a crucial part of Indiana’s playoff run last season, led the Wings with 12 points after halftime and made one of two free throws in the dying seconds of regulation. Caitlin Clark missed a 32-footer and Indiana fouled Bueckers on the rebound, but Bueckers missed both foul shots with 1.4 seconds left, giving the Fever one last chance.
With Clark smothered by defenders on the inbound play, Kelsey Mitchell uncorked a 3 to tie but it bounced off the rim.
Mitchell powered the Fever’s comeback with 11 of her game-high 30 points coming in the fourth. Aliyah Boston had 23 points and Clark tallied 20 points, seven assists and four rebounds while shooting 2-of-9 from deep in her first WNBA game since July 15, 2025, due to a season-ending groin injury.
Neither team led by more than nine as two efficient offenses went tit for tat. The Wings shot 59.1% from the field and 12 for 23 from 3-point range, while the Fever made 51.9% overall but just 7 of 24 3-point attempts.
Clark left the bench in the waning minutes of the third period and returned wearing a black wrap around her lower back. She reentered the game and hit the final layup of the third to forge a tie at 80. That gave Clark 10 points for the third and put her past 1,000 points in her 54th career game.
Clark was not part of the Fever’s first lineup for the fourth quarter but emerged from the locker room soon after, presumably after further treatment.
Sims’ fastbreak layup made it 97-90 with four minutes and change to play, but Mitchell clawed the Fever back with a 3-pointer, one free throw and a three-point play to get it to 99-97 Dallas. Bueckers responded with a 20-footer.
Boston missed the second half of a pair of free throws but stole the rebound from Bueckers and laid it in to cut it to 101-100. Then the Fever forced their second five-second violation of the quarter, but came up empty on offense.
Alanna Smith scored for Dallas and Sims hit a shot over Clark to make it 105-100 with 36.4 seconds left.
After the Fever pushed in front early in the second on consecutive 3-pointers by Cunningham and Boston, No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd responded with the first points of her career on a corner 3, and Ogunbowale’s triple restored the tie game at 35.
But Fudd finished her WNBA debut with just those three points and one steal in 18 minutes.
Neither team led by more than five points until the final minute of the half, when Aziaha James knocked down two 3-pointers and Ogunbowale added one in between to build a 60-51 Dallas lead.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sabres, Habs knotted at a game apiece as series heads north
May 8, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Montréal Canadiens right wing Josh Anderson (17) clears the puck as Buffalo Sabres right wing Alex Tuch (89) defends during the third period in game two of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images The Buffalo Sabres know they have to be much better with the puck Sunday night as their second-round series shifts north to Montreal for Game 3, all square at one game apiece with the Canadiens.
The Sabres played a heavy game against Montreal in Game 2 Friday night, but it was to no avail as the Canadiens blew out the Atlantic Division champs 5-1.
Buffalo dished out 44 hits on the red-white-and-blue-clad Habs, who returned just 18. Mattias Samuelsson recorded a game-high 10, while Tage Thompson had six.
Montreal’s Juraj Slafkovsky said most of the 44 were a little late.
“I feel like all of their hits happen after the plays,” the top-line winger said. “Especially me, I mean, I made a play, and then, three seconds after, I got hit. … Sometimes, you’ve got to take a hit to make a play.”
Thompson played badly in the loss: He gridded at minus-4 and turned the puck over by simply falling to the ice, leading to Alexandre Carrier’s third-period goal that made the 4-1 lead insurmountable.
“I just wasn’t executing,” said Thompson. “I think everything I touched turned into disaster tonight. So, tough one. I’ve got to be better.”
Added Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff: “Three or four of the goals were just the result bad puck play. You just can’t beat yourself.”
Coach Martin St. Louis and his Habs trek back home to Quebec with all the momentum after wresting home-ice advantage from the Sabres after their 109-point season, second only to the Carolina Hurricanes’ 113 in a standout showing by the Eastern Conference.
Alex Newhook and Mike Matheson tallied within the first five minutes of Game 2, scoring less than three minutes apart as Buffalo’s defense and goaltender Alex Lyon collapsed. Newhook added another early in the second.
It was the start the Habs needed to even the series and carry momentum home after an exhausting first-round win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games.
Goalie Jakub Dobes, outstanding in stopping 181 of 196 shots (.923 save percentage) against the Lightning, denied 28 of 29 against the Sabres on Friday.
The Czech goaltender said the whole squad was inspired by an “unbelievable” pregame speech by St. Louis but would not reveal its nature.
However, second-line center Jake Evans spilled the beans.
“He just said it’s going to be a war out there and we’ve got to play like it,” Evans told Sportsnet. “I don’t know if it was meant to be more physical, but we were all just (mentally) dialed in from the start.”
Montreal countered by holding a blocked-shot edge, 18-11, with defensemen Noah Dobson and Matheson posting nearly half of them with five and three, respectively.
Matheson’s tally was the game-winning one, but the 2012 first-round draft pick of the Florida Panthers (23rd overall) said Dobes was typically instrumental.
“He brings a lot of energy to our team,” said Matheson, a Pointe-Claire, Que., native who has one goal, one assist and 12 penalty minutes in nine playoff matches this postseason. “He kind of exudes a lot of swagger into our lineup.”
The Sabres’ Sam Carrick, out with an arm injury after fighting New York Islanders captain Anders Lee on March 31, is “on the cusp,” according to Ruff, of slotting back in following a return to practice Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
